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Source Description
This majestic painting was created for a large iconostasis, a screen separating the altar sanctuary from the nave in Orthodox churches. Here, Abraham and Sarah sacrifice a calf to honor their guests, who reveal themselves as angels (Genesis 18:1-10). Christian theologians interpreted the three angels as Old Testament precursors of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, so the icon is inscribed "The Holy Trinity". The meal that the angels bless mirrors the sacrament of the Lord's Supper celebrated behind the iconostasis during the Divine Liturgy.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
4308
label
Hospitality of Abraham
core
obj
dtoType
drawing
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
4308
sourceUrl
contentType
drawing
stage
normalized
title
Hospitality of Abraham
description
This majestic painting was created for a large iconostasis, a screen separating the altar sanctuary from the nave in Orthodox churches. Here, Abraham and Sarah sacrifice a calf to honor their guests, who reveal themselves as angels (Genesis 18:1-10). Christian theologians interpreted the three angels as Old Testament precursors of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, so the icon is inscribed "The Holy Trinity". The meal that the angels bless mirrors the sacrament of the Lord's Supper celebrated behind the iconostasis during the Divine Liturgy.
provenance
Alexandre Polovtsoff (Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Polovtsov), Paris, by purchase; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1922, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
ca. 1600 (Early Modern)
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Painting & Drawing
paintings
icons
imageCount
1
pageCount
1
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
154.5
height
127.3
depth
5.7
dimensionsRaw
H: 60 13/16 × W: 50 1/8 × D: 2 1/4 in. (154.5 × 127.3 × 5.65 cm)
Source extras
cul
Russian
dynasty
House of Romanov
med
tempera on wood
creator_ids
6214
collection_ids
BYZ
exhibition_ids
69
3423
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
cb79ae2a16300102